Seven flu deaths so far this month brings N.H. total to 20

DOVER — The death toll in New Hampshire for this year's flu season — which runs October 2012 to May 2013 — has risen to 20, seven of which occurred in the first two weeks of January.

Beth Daly, chief of infectious disease surveillance for the state Department of Health and Human Services, told Foster's three deaths had been reported as of Monday but the number jumped to seven on Wednesday. She explained there is a lag in information received by the state as influenza data is gleaned only from received death certificates, and sometimes health-care providers may not list influenza as the primary cause of death.

Daly noted typically, there are between four and 21 deaths reported every season so the number is fairly high, though not entirely alarming, with the first case of influenza reportedly occurring in September 2012.

Currently there are 44 outbreaks in the Granite State, 24 of which are still ongoing, according to Daly. On average, she said the state sees between 10 and 30 outbreaks every season. She added 40 of the outbreaks occurred in health care settings so far and the remaining largely occurred in school and child care settings.

The DHHS is not reporting exactly where these outbreaks, or deaths, occurred.

So far, none of the reported deaths in New Hampshire have involved children, though the state of Maine did report the death of a young child shortly before Christmas.

Mariann Murphy, a representative for Huggins Hospital in Wolfeboro, said even with the number of deaths reported this month, the hospital saw a dip in patients with influenza visiting the hospital or the emergency department in the last week. Noreen Biehl, vice president of community relations for Wentworth-Douglass Hospital in Dover, similarly reported a lower number of people arriving with the flu in the last several days.

Murphy said she believes the current media coverage of influenza in the region has gotten through to the general public, who are staying home and finding ways to protect themselves.

“The more we know, the better we can care for ourselves,” Murphy said.

Daly noted currently there is no shortage of vaccine supply in the state which can protect against the three most common strains recorded, those being H1N1, known as swine flu, along with Influenza A and B.

“It's a good match to what is circulating out there. We know it's not 100 percent effective, and no vaccine is,” she explained. “It's still possible to get the flu but generally it should be a less severe illness, will help with being hospitalized or developing pneumonia.”

Daly added typically health care providers and pharmacies order vaccine supply at the start of the flu season and as they have been running out off supplies in their facilities, there has been a little bit of lag time in redistribution of the vaccine. She noted patients may need to call several locations, either doctor's offices or pharmacies, to track down available vaccine but that does not mean the state is running low. She noted Manchester and Nashua are also offering clinics at a low cost to the public as well.

While the state department does not track the vaccination rates of adults, so far, 95,000 children have been vaccinated this season.

The DHHS warns residents to stay home from work or school if they have the flu, to cover their mouths when the cough or sneeze, to refrain from touching their eyes and mouth to limit the spread of germs and to wash their hands frequently throughout the day for 20 to 30 seconds with hot water and soap.